Notre Dame Football: 4 Surprises from the 1st Quarter of 2014

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame football's 3-0 start to the season certainly isn’t surprising. Odds Shark indicates the Irish were favored against Rice, Michigan and Purdue, after all. How they got to 3-0, however, was unexpected.

Let’s take stock of what we didn’t see coming in Notre Dame’s first three games.

Everett Golson

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Everett Golson

Ok, so we figured Everett Golson would be good. But did we think the Irish signal-caller would be this good?

Through three games, Golson has lifted himself into the Heisman Trophy discussion. Sure, it’s early, but then again, one-quarter of the season is nothing to sneeze at.

Golson has racked up 11 touchdowns—seven passing and four rushing—and still hasn’t committed a turnover. The fourth-year player has a 64.6 completion percentage and led the team in rushing against Purdue last weekend.

This is the player Irish fans hoped to see, but it’s probably not the player they expected, in all honesty. Golson has been crisp with his throws, smooth with his reads and progressions, and comfortable in and out of the pocket.

Golson will face more tests as the season rolls along, the opponents get stronger and the defenses get stiffer, but for now, Golson has surprised with just how well he has played.

Chris Brown

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Chris Brown

Without DaVaris Daniels in the spring, Chris Brown earned steady praise from the Irish coaching staff. With Daniels back in the fall, Brown still drew plenty of buzz from the coaches.

But through three games—without Daniels—Brown has been quiet. The junior wide receiver has tallied just four receptions for 36 yards—with the longest being a 12-yard grab against Rice in the season opener.

Based on some of the preseason hype, Notre Dame was likely expecting more from the athletic speedster.

“He's got to grow into that position and be more productive for us,” Kelly said Sunday after the 30-14 win over Purdue.

Sophomore Will Fuller (19 receptions) and senior Amir Carlisle (11) have combined for nearly half of Notre Dame’s receiving production, and senior tight end Ben Koyack has added another 10 catches of his own.

“I don't think there's any one player on our offense at the wide receiver position that has arrived,” Kelly said. “I think they are all trying to find that consistency that they need to get to, and I think Chris is one of those guys, too.”

It certainly wouldn’t hurt Notre Dame if Brown develops as the season continues. But with Fuller looking as strong as he has—225 yards and three touchdowns—and leading a deep crop of pass-catchers, Brown’s early-season performance hasn’t been too costly.

The Offensive Line

Joe Raymond/Associated Press

Nick Martin

Last year, Notre Dame allowed just eight sacks. No FBS team attempted more passes and allowed fewer sacks than the Irish did in 2013. The offensive line paved the way for Notre Dame to average 151 rushing yards per game and 4.5 yards per carry.

So far, the Irish have already surrendered six sacks, and the ground game struggled against Michigan and Purdue.

The offensive line had come to be a strength of the Notre Dame squad under position coach Harry Hiestand. Strong recruiting classes have bred depth and versatility, but things haven’t been so smooth in 2014.

Though the Irish only lost two starters from last year’s line—granted, two key cogs in Zack Martin and Chris Watt—the position shuffling hasn’t produced a steady, successful formula yet.

Kelly said Sunday that the Irish need to find more of a push inside. He said Notre Dame will likely work with the same six linemen who have played, for the most part, with the possible addition of sophomore Mike McGlinchey.

“We know we've got some good players,” Kelly said. ‘We have to figure out whether we have them all in the right place.”

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Kelly said that Steve Elmer could move back to guard, Christian Lombard could move out. Mike McGlinchey could come in.

— Irish Illustrated (@NDatRivals) September 14, 2014"

Despite the struggles to this point, it would be surprising if Notre Dame doesn’t turn it around on the offensive line. There’s too much talent and experience throughout the ranks.

Defense

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Brian VanGorder

With a mix of new faces, a new coordinator and a new scheme on the defensive side of the ball, it was difficult to predict just what the Notre Dame defense would look like in 2014.

Well, after three games, it’s safe to say the group has exceeded expectations. The Irish have only allowed 31 points—and just 14 in the last two weeks. Notre Dame has only surrendered seven second-half points.

"

#NotreDame Football defense has yielded 31 points thru 3 games in 2014. The vintage 2012 defense gave up 30 thru its first three games.

— Eric Hansen (@EHansenNDI) September 14, 2014"

With an aggressive, young and multifaceted defense, Notre Dame will probably endure some valleys in addition to the early peaks. There have been growing pains in the secondary, and there will continue to be challenges as Stanford, North Carolina, Florida State, Arizona State and USC lurk on the schedule.

So far, though, Brian VanGorder’s defense has topped the preseason expectations.

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So who had ND 4th nationally in scoring defense at full strength? That’s where the irish are today minus a half dozen front line players.

— Irish Illustrated (@NDatRivals) September 14, 2014

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All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Mike Monaco is a lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.